Zhong Yi Was Fired

Chapter 44: Zhong Yi Was Fired

It was lunchtime again, and at the same spot, Xia Junshan and Wang Yue had gathered in the company cafeteria. None of their other colleagues wanted to join them, knowing these two were bound to hold another little symposium.

The two of them were troublemakers in their director's eyes, and seeing them together only made him dislike them more.

Wang Yue didn't care. After all, the director had no say in the matter, and even if he did, Wang Yue didn't necessarily depend on this job for a living. Xia Junshan cared even less; his father-in-law still had some pull.

"I don't know how Yan Peng puts up with Tian Yulan." As soon as Wang Yue sat down, Xia Junshan announced the subject of today's afternoon "dessert."

"What amazing thing has she done this time?" Wang Yue was actually curious. Could this be the protagonist's special constitution? His own family of four lived a peaceful, uneventful life, while Xia Junshan's family seemed to have news almost every day. Wang Yue had even grown fond of their lunchtime show.

As it turned out, Tian Yulan had recently started causing Nan Li trouble at every turn. First, she'd mindlessly opposed the home-furnishings store plan Nan Li was organizing. Then, once the project got underway, she'd accused Nan Li of deliberately keeping her in the dark. On top of that, she'd reported Zhong Yi, her junior brother, to the Education Bureau because two questions on an exam had gone beyond the syllabus. In the end, the school fired him.

"Old Xia, if I remember right, your junior brother's girlfriend is your daughter's homeroom teacher?" Wang Yue wasn't completely sure.

"Yeah!" Xia Junshan nodded.

"Well, there you have it. In Tian Yulan's eyes, you knew Zhong Yi's girlfriend was her son's teacher, yet you still let her go and make an enemy of her. So it's your fault, isn't it?" Wang Yue had understood the situation after hearing the gist of it. Tian Yulan was probably cut from the same cloth as Cao Cao—always convinced that some villain was out to get her!

"No, come on. Who would randomly bring that up to her? Besides, everyone knew. Shouldn't she have known too?" Xia Junshan stared at him in disbelief.

"Everyone knew because the students probably went home and told their parents. Do you think Yan Ziyou had the courage to chat with his mother?" Wang Yue couldn't help sighing over their mother-son relationship.

"Come on, it can't be that bad, can it? Is it really that serious?" Xia Junshan still couldn't believe their relationship was so strained.

"Anyway, from what you've told me, Tian Yulan is pretty obsessive. When she sees her son, she probably only talks about studying and tutoring." Wang Yue didn't want to discuss it any further. "Give me your junior brother's number."

"What for?" Xia Junshan had no idea why Wang Yue wanted his junior brother's number, but he gave it to him anyway.

"Isn't he out of work? I want to work with him." Wang Yue had suddenly remembered the automated grading software that had taken off in his old world. Paired with online teaching, it was a perfect fit for the times.

"What kind of work could you offer him? You're not going to hire him as a tutor, are you? Let him teach my daughter too. I haven't found a suitable tutor for her, even after you mentioned it last time." Xia Junshan assumed Wang Yue wanted to hire Zhong Yi to tutor his two precious children.

"More or less. Once things get going, your tutoring problem will be solved too!" Wang Yue declared confidently.

"You're being so mysterious. How about this: I'm playing ball with Yan Peng this weekend. You and Zhong Yi can come along, and I'll introduce you." Xia Junshan thought it over and decided he should make the introduction himself.

"Sounds good. Why don't you ask your sister-in-law to bring Huan Huan and Chao Chao? I'll bring my wife and Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, so the kids can have fun together." Wang Yue considered it.

"Should we ask Zhong Yi to bring his girlfriend too?" Xia Junshan asked, for reasons of his own.

"If you think that's a good idea, sure. Then Yan Peng can bring his wife too!" Wang Yue couldn't help rolling his eyes.

"Right, right. You and Zhong Yi can talk business, while Yan Peng and I play ball. That way nobody gets left out!" Xia Junshan immediately broke into a cold sweat. If they brought Tian Yulan along, wouldn't it be like Mars colliding with Earth?

The weekend came around quickly. They all met up at the sports center. After introductions, Wang Yue sent his wife, Ruan Wan, to play ball with Nan Li, while he and Zhong Yi watched the four children playing from a distance.

"Zhong Yi, here's the thing. I have some software..." Wang Yue didn't know Zhong Yi very well, so he got straight to the point.

"You mean you want me to teach using your software?" Zhong Yi asked to make sure he'd understood.

"That's right. You can teach online with it, and it has all sorts of features, including automatic online grading. It's almost the same as teaching in person. With your abilities, you'll be able to attract plenty of students!" Wang Yue nodded.

"Why don't you just go raise funding?" Zhong Yi was cautious. They didn't know each other well, so why would Wang Yue want to help him?

"Having software and good teachers will make it easier to raise funding. And if you take charge of the Online School, your teaching ability will make its profits predictable. You can also tutor my kids when you have time. Right? Your senior brother is waiting for you to teach Huan Huan too." Wang Yue earnestly laid out his reasoning. In truth, he simply wanted to give Zhong Yi a hand. He didn't think Zhong Yi was a bad person; he just wanted to earn enough for a down payment quickly so he could marry the woman he loved.

"Could I try out your software?" Zhong Yi thought it over and decided he wanted to give it a try.

"Sure. Tomorrow, then. Prepare a lesson for fourth graders and teach my daughter a class." Wang Yue was taking advantage of the opportunity for personal gain.

"Deal!" Zhong Yi readily agreed.

Once they'd settled everything, they went over to join the four children. Zhong Yi taught elementary school and was naturally patient, and with Wang Yue being such a full-time dad, the four kids had so much fun playing together that they didn't want to go home.

After Xia Junshan's family of four got home, the children were still talking about Uncle Wang Yue. Nan Li sighed. "Your colleague is so good with kids. Huan Huan and Chao Chao both really like him!"

"Of course. You should've seen his kids. They're clearly better at having fun than ours, and they're more outgoing too. We should let the kids spend more time with them." Xia Junshan agreed.

"We both have two kids, and Wang Yue is so good with them. Why can't you manage that?" Nan Li said with a smile.

"How can you say I can't? Aren't Huan Huan and Chao Chao happiest when they're with me?" Xia Junshan was getting a little flustered. How could he let another man outdo him in front of his wife?

"Okay, okay, you're the best! Huan Huan and Chao Chao are closest to you!" Seeing that Xia Junshan was getting upset, Nan Li hurriedly soothed him.

"Exactly! You should know whether I'm any good!" Xia Junshan realized he'd gotten a little worked up and quickly changed the subject.

But changing the subject only sparked another fire, and he had to see it through. He might have started it, but he had no say in how it ended.

Anyway, the next morning, Nan Li got up looking radiant and went to make breakfast, while Xia Junshan was still lying there like a corpse!

That morning, after getting everything ready, Wang Yue connected with Zhong Yi through the specialized software and began the first trial online class. The results were obvious: it was almost indistinguishable from teaching in person. But this was only a one-on-one lesson; they'd have to test the results further.

Zhong Yi was already very satisfied with how things had gone. He called Wang Yue right away, and the two discussed their plans going forward. When it came to the concrete work of setting up the company, though, Wang Yue left everything to Zhong Yi, telling him to come to him if he needed money. He acted as though he trusted him completely.